Abaji Needs ₦600m to Restore Power After Year-Long Blackout

(Hon. Abubakar Umar Abdullahi. Photo by The Business Times)

The Chairman of Abaji Area Council has disclosed that approximately ₦600 million will be needed to restore electricity supply to the council area, where repeated destruction of essential power infrastructure has left residents without power for over a year.

The estimate emerged from a technical evaluation conducted by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company, according to a statement released by the chairman's press secretary.

The assessment determined that roughly 37 kilometres of high-tension transmission lines connecting Yangoji in Kwali Area Council to Abaji town require complete reconstruction before electricity can be restored to affected communities.

The extended power outage has significantly disrupted commercial activities throughout the area, with residents and business operators enduring months without reliable electricity access.

Enterprises heavily reliant on power supply, including welding operations, salons, cold storage facilities, and various service providers, have suffered considerably, with numerous businesses forced to halt operations or resort to costly alternative power sources.

The council chairman revealed that the administration had previously funded restoration of the damaged infrastructure on two separate occasions, only for the facilities to be sabotaged again by suspected criminal elements, leaving the council financially unable to sustain repeated repair efforts.

He noted that this latest cost projection arrives during a particularly challenging period, as declining statutory allocations have placed considerable strain on the council's finances, with recent funding barely covering salary obligations and leaving little capacity for major infrastructure projects.

Despite these financial limitations, the chairman expressed the council's continued commitment to collaborating with relevant authorities and stakeholders toward a sustainable resolution of the prolonged power outage, appealing to residents for patience while efforts continue to mobilise necessary resources.

This situation highlights the broader difficulty of safeguarding Nigeria's electricity infrastructure against vandalism, a persistent issue that continues to compromise power distribution, escalate operational costs for distribution companies, and hinder economic progress in affected areas.

Stakeholders within the industry have consistently advocated for enhanced security protocols, greater community involvement, and more rigorous enforcement measures to curb recurring infrastructure damage.

Residents of Abaji anticipate that restored electricity will reinvigorate commercial activity, enhance living standards, and diminish reliance on expensive alternatives such as diesel and petrol generators, which have substantially increased costs for households and businesses throughout the extended outage period.